Old Man Cat
Fourteen or fifteen years ago, we were having a craft party at our house.
A little black cat walked into the house.
He laid down on the tile, like he had always lived there.
He had long black hair.
He had big green eyes.
He was very friendly.
We decided to keep him.
Someone probably dumped him near our property.
We named him Zachry.
He was playful.
He liked to chase string.
He liked to sleep on the cool floor.
One day, he caught a big snake.
I saw him walking across the yard with it in his mouth.
He deposited it at the front door.
I went to make sure the snake was dead.
Oh my! It was alive.
That snake played possum in front of the cat.
I went to the garage to get a shovel.
Stay out of the way kids!
When I got back the snake had slithered away. Whew!
Over time the big black cat’s name morphed into Zachy.
He loved people’s feet.
He attacked several people’s feet at our house.
Our friend, Robert likes to sit in the rocking chair.
Zachy would go over to him and rub his leg all innocent like.
Then bam! He attacked Robert’s feet.
Robert’s wife is Valerie and she sells Pampered Chef.
One night at a party at my house, Zachy jumped on her feet.
He started biting her and we had to pull him off.
My daughter Avery adopted Zachy as her own.
When she was little, he bit her on the lip while playing.
I was ready to kill him, hurting my little girl like that.
He had this funny way of sitting to clean himself.
He would sit like a human and hunch over to clean his stomach.
Avery said she taught him how to sit like that.
My mother-in-law always called him “Handsome”.
She said he is a good-looking cat.
He was pretty; big and fluffy.
He would walk on the top of our fence.
He had one foot on top and one foot on the railing.
It looked so funny.
He liked to come out by the pool in the morning and get a rubdown.
Then he would sit on the footstool and relax.
A cat after my own heart.
I started calling him Old Man Cat.
He was the oldest of our cats.
The name had a regal sound and matched his demeanor.
As he got older, he quit biting so much.
He couldn’t hear very well either.
He could be sleeping outside and you could walk up and pet him before he moved.
He loved to come inside and get a snack.
He would go to the refrigerator and stand up and put his paws on it.
He liked chopped up ham or tuna.
He would sleep with his feet up in the air.
He was the first cat I ever saw do that.
So relaxed, so comfortable.
Well yesterday, he passed away.
I found him by the garage.
He was wet and the rain was falling on him.
I hate that Old Man Cat died.
I loved to see his face every morning.
For the first time in my life, I hope that our pets go to heaven.
He was such a good old soul.
It would be nice for him to be sitting in heaven with Jesus.
Waiting for me to arrive for his morning rubdown and a ham snack.
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